As poll workers wait for voters to trickle in, volunteer Pam Homhuan gives students from Gethsemane Baptist Christian School a quick lesson on the voting process in Long Beach on Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2019. The students didn’t travel far for their field trip since the polling place was set up at their school at Gethsemane Baptist Church. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

For the past year or so, when it comes to politics, I’ve been frustrated and angry. And worried. Because despite our protests, the adults in power have failed to protect me and my classmates from being gunned down in our classrooms. Because many of our leaders still refuse to recognize climate change as an existential threat to my future, and because in some parts of our country, access to birth control so many teens rely on is slowly shrinking.

Above all, I’m frustrated because I, and many other teens, feel ignored and unrepresented by the adults that occupy the highest echelons of power — and, until recently, I felt completely helpless to change anything. I was resigned to wait out the two years until I reached voting age, growing more and more disillusioned.

But then I began to investigate: Is it possible for me, a teen unable to vote (and still, regrettably, without a driver’s license) to have a meaningful impact on politics? That question feels even more urgent now, after the mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton that claimed the lives of at least 34 people.

Waiting until I’m 18 to have a voice is no longer an option.

Over the past few weeks I’ve reached out to people with different perspectives on politics about how teens can get involved. One of those is James Kuntz, a high schooler from New York who founded Teens in Politics, an organization that connects high school students in the New York City area with political internships.

According to Kuntz, the biggest misconception teens have about politics is that they can’t have an impact. “One person can absolutely make a difference,” Kuntz says, “If you find something you believe in — whether it be a candidate, an issue or a movement — there’s no reason not to engage.”

It won’t always be easy. In July I sent emails to 15 Democratic candidates to ask if I could talk to representatives from their campaigns about how teens can get involved in the 2020 primaries. Only two campaigns got back, both to inform me that they couldn’t help me at that time.

Sometimes it can feel impossible to make your voice heard.

Then, I emailed my California state senator, Anthony Portantino, doubtful of getting any answer. To my surprise, a week later I was sitting down with him and one of his field representatives, Dominick Correy, in Portantino’s Glendale office.

Portantino receives a lot of letters and emails from his teen constituents, and he says that they often inform how he views certain issues. “You all have a perspective that is important to the conversation,” Portantino says. “It’s been a long time since I was a teen, and the world has changed significantly.”

Portantino is adamant that teens do have the power to shake things up and force real change. Last year, after watching survivors of the Parkland shooting lead protests for gun control on TV, Portantino was struck by their passion and conviction. After reading up on the reforms the students were advocating, he authored a bill to raise the gun-purchase age in California to 21. “That’s an area where teens directly impacted public policy,” Portantino says.

I’m still angry. I’m still worried. But I no longer feel immobile and disillusioned. Teens do have political power. It’s just a little harder for us to access it.

Though we may not be able to vote politicians in or out of power, we can volunteer for the candidates we believe in, phone banking or canvassing to get them elected. Though we may not be old enough to hold public office, we can storm out of school, picket city halls and use protest to force the change we believe in. Though we may not be able to vote on propositions, we can call, email and tweet at our representatives in all levels of government and hold them accountable.

Doing nothing won’t accomplish anything. If I speak up for the things I believe in and work to make my voice heard, there are adults with power who are listening.

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